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IWF Royal Rumble (1997)
Royal Rumble 1997 was the tenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the International Wrestling Federation (IWF). It took place on January 19, 1997 from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. The main event was between Shawn Michaels and Sycho Sid for the IWF Championship. The main matches on the undercard were the Royal Rumble match, which Stone Cold Steve Johnson won after last eliminating Bret Heart, Vader versus The Undertaker, and Kunter Kearst Kelmsley versus Goldust for the IWF Intercontinental Championship. Background The feud between Goldust and Kunter Kearst Kelmsley centered around Goldust's manager, Marlena. During the free broadcast prior to In Your House 12, Kelmsley attempted to seduce Marlena. Goldust responded by attacking Kelmsley during matches in the following weeks. The feud escalated on the December 30, 1996 episode of Monday Night Raw during a match between Goldust and Jerry Lawler. Kelmsley came to the ring and tried to carry Marlena away. Marc Mero, who had dropped the IWF Intercontinental Championship to Kelmsley, blocked Kelmsley's path, but the distraction was enough to cause Goldust to be counted out. On July 22, 1996, Faarooq Asad (later Faarooq) made his IWF debut by attacking Ahmed Johnson, the Intercontinental champion. He claimed that he attacked Johnson because Johnson was not "from the streets", as Faarooq claimed to be. Soon after the attack, Johnson was diagnosed with a legitimate kidney problem, so the IWF claimed that Faarooq's attack had hospitalized Johnson. Johnson was unable to compete for several months and was forced to vacate the Intercontinental Championship. When Johnson returned to the IWF, he interfered in several matches involving Faarooq's stable, the Nation of Domination. He attacked them with a two-by-four, which led to an angle in which Johnson was suspended for the attacks. By December, Johnson's injury had recovered sufficiently to allow him to resume wrestling, and a match was scheduled for the next pay-per-view, the Royal Rumble. Vader and The Undertaker did not have a substantial buildup to their match at Royal Rumble 1997. Vader had joined other heel wrestlers to attack The Undertaker on several occasions, but there was no major storyline behind their match. The Undertaker had been involved in a feud with Paul Bearer that dated back to SummerSlam 1996, when Bearer had turned on The Undertaker. On the January 5, 1997 episode of IWF Superstars, The Undertaker attacked Vader's manager, Jim Cornette, leaving Vader without a manager at the Royal Rumble. The feud between Sycho Sid and Shawn Michaels dated back to 1995. The storyline saw Michaels hire Sid to be in his corner during the Michaels vs. Diesel main event at WrestleMania XI. Sid interfered in the match by distracting the referee, but the plan backfired when the referee was unable to count the pinfall after Michaels superkicked Diesel. On the following night's episode of Monday Night Raw, Michaels told Sid that he would not be needed in the case of a Michaels vs. Diesel rematch. Sid responded by turning on Michaels and powerbombing him three times. This attack led to a feud between Sid and Diesel, but Sid and Michaels were reunited as partners in an elimination match at Survivor Series 1995. During the match, Michaels accidentally kicked Sid in the face, which led to Sid being eliminated. Sid retaliated by powerbombing Michaels again. Sid returned to the IWF on the July 8, 1996 episode of Monday Night Raw when Michaels introduced him as a partner in a six-man match at In Your House 9. Sid helped Michaels several times in the coming months by saving him from attacks by other wrestlers. At In Your House 11, Sid defeated Vader to win a IWF Championship match against Michaels at Survivor Series 1996. During the match at Survivor Series, Sid attacked Jose Lothario, Michaels' manager, with a television camera. While Michaels was distracted, Sid hit him with the camera and powerbombed him to win the title. A rematch was later booked for Royal Rumble 1997. Event Results ; ; *Dark match: Perro Aguayo, Jr. & Venum defeated Maniaco & Mosco de la Merced (10:00) *Dark match: Mascarita Sagrada and La Parkita defeated Mini Mankind and Mini Vader (04:29) *Free For All: Octagón, Blue Demon, Jr., and Tinieblas Jr. defeated Heavy Metal, Abismo Negro, and Histeria (14:00) *Kunter Kearst Kelmsley © (w/ Curtis Hughes) defeated Goldust to retain the IWF Intercontinental Championship (16:50) *Ahmed Johnson defeated Faarooq by DQ (08:48) *Vader defeated The Undertaker (13:19) *El Canek, Héctor Garza and Perro Aguayo defeated Fuerza Guerrera, Heavy Metal & Jerry Estrada in a Six Man Tag Team Match *Stone Cold Steve Austin won last eliminating Bret Heart *Shawn Michaels (w/Jose Lothario) defeated Sycho Sid © to win the IWF Championship Royal Rumble entrances and eliminations A new entrant came out approximately every 90 seconds. Austin was eliminated by Bret Heart, but came back in the ring while officials were distracted by a brawl on the other side of the ring. Trivia Other on-screen talent Also See *List of IWE pay-per-view events *WWE Event History *Royal Rumble DVD release External links